Nice weather prompted the best turnout of the current season, as 30 anglers in 17 boats showed up to vie for top honors in today's tournament.
Standing tallest at day's end was the team of (from left) Rob Peppers and Don Carter, who weighed a five-fish limit totaling 16.82 lbs. Rob also garnered the day's lunker award with the 5.02-lb. bass you see here in his right hand.
Finishing in 2nd place was Tom Acree and his partner, Joe McDevitt (not pictured), who, despite some boat problems, weighed five bass with a total weight of 12.23 lbs. Their big fish weighed 4.90 lbs.
Claiming 3rd-place honors was the father-son team of Mark (not pictured) and Grayson Kinzel, who brought five bass to the scales. Their total weight was 9.86 lbs., anchored by a 2.30-lb. fish. It's evident Grayson here takes his fishing seriously because, as reported to me by another angler, he took control of his dad's bass boat with the trolling motor while the senior Kinzel went to retrieve the tow rig for recovering the boat. The eyewitness told me young Grayson handled the boat flawlessly. Well done! young man. Your dad must be awfully proud of you--for good reason.
In 4th place at day's end was Jim Wilder, with a five-fish limit totaling 9.14 lbs. after a 0.50 deduction for two dead fish. He didn't weigh a big fish.
Fifth-place money went to the team of Wayne Hayes and Jared Allbritten (not pictured), who wrapped up the day with five fish that tipped the scales at 8.29 lbs. Their big fish was a 2.29-lb. bass.
Rounding out the day's list of contestants who took home a money envelope was the team of Luke Cooper and Justin Gainey (not pictured). They won the mystery-weight drawing. Their total weight was 3.88 lbs., which was closest to the 3.95-lb. tab that was drawn.
Here is how all the other competitors finished the day:
* Al Napier, five fish, 7.89 lbs. total weight, no big fish.
* The team of Ronnie and Chandler McLaughlin, five fish, 7.37 lbs. total weight, 2.75-lb. big fish.
* The team of Randy Conkle and Bob Glass, five fish, 6.29 lbs. total weight after a 0.25 deduction for one dead fish, no big fish.
* The team of Gary Coderre and Lenny Hall, four fish, 6.03 lbs. total weight, no big fish.
* The team of Paul Celentano and Sid Ryan, five fish, 5.56 lbs. total weight, no big fish.
* The team of Chris Fretard and Mike Miller, three fish, 5.42 lbs. total weight, no big fish.
* The husband-wife team of Nathan and Marjorie Gottsch, three fish, 3.63 lbs. total weight, no big fish.
* The team of Rob Chatham and Ken Testorff, three fish, 2.58 lbs. total weight, no big fish.
* Jim Bauer, one fish, 1.72 lbs. total weight, no big fish.
The following participants didn't weigh any fish: the team of Duane and Donny Kessel, and Skip Schaible.
Overall, the anglers today weighed a total of 62 bass for a total weight of 107.21 lbs. The average weight was 1.72 lbs.
In addition, three more competitors became Classic-qualified as a result of today's participation. We now have a total of 21 anglers eligible to fish our two-day season-ending event in October.
Congrats to all of today's winners, and thanks to all those who came out today.
For planning purposes, our next tournament is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 8th. Hours will be safe light (probably about 5:45 or 5:50 a.m.) to weigh-in at 2 p.m.
In all honesty, I can't say I was surprised at our lackluster day, given the dismal reports I've been getting from different ones for most of about two weeks now. There's no way of knowing if or when it'll get any better.
One can hope, though, that a change for the better isn't too far into the future. I can't remember the last time I found things as tough as they are at the moment. What I wouldn't give to be able to sit down and pick ol' Dewey's brain about this current dilemma.
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